Serco's strategic partnership with Lincolnshire County Council goes live

Serco, the international service company, today marks the first day of its strategic partnership with Lincolnshire County Council under a contract that will see it provide a range of business process and contact centre services for the Council, delivering savings of more than £14m over five years.

As the Council's new strategic partner, Serco is responsible for a wide range of customer-facing and back-office functions including finance, HR and ICT, and for the Council's customer services operations, which were previously delivered in-house.

The five-year deal is valued in excess of £70m. The contract also includes an agreement to add supplementary services as well as an option to extend for two further two-year periods.

Staff have moved into their new office at Thomas Parker House in the heart of Lincoln city centre, with Serco retaining the same number of staff within Lincolnshire, and it is hoped an additional 140 local jobs will be created over the life of the contract.

Serco began work on transforming services from April last year in preparation for the transition.

Sean Hanson, Managing Director of Serco's Public Sector BPO business, said: "We are delighted that the partnership is now live and delivering important local services. Today marks the culmination of a year of preparation which has seen Serco and the Council working together in partnership to ensure we were ready to go live. We are very excited about this partnership and believe that by introducing new technology and ways of working, we will deliver efficiencies and benefits to the Council and local citizens alike."

Cllr Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: "We've worked hard to ensure a smooth transition for both staff and residents, and I look forward to seeing the benefits of our new partnership with Serco.

"I'm confident that this new approach will not only bring much-needed savings, but also improve the quality of our business processes, helping us provide an even better service to our residents."